Portland is at the center of a revolution in spirits that is very reminiscent of its role in the explosion of micro brew beer. Now on the SE side of Portland there’s an established Distillery Row with several key micro distilleries making artisanal and craft spritis.

In addition to exciting things happening on the micro distillery front Portland’s cocktail scene has been exploding. Some of the cocktails being served in Portland are as good or better than you’ll find in places like Los Angeles, Chicago or even New York.

Some of the notable things happening in this space:

Teardrop Lounge launched a massive new cocktail menu with a mix of classic cocktails, cocktails from notable bartenders around the country and home grown drinks from the amazingly talented: Daniel Shoemaker, David Shenaut and Ricky Gomez. (1015 Northwest Everett Street)

Laurelhurst Market award winning bartender Evan Zimmerman is doing monsterous things with a tiny bar at the back of this notable ‘steak/deli’ restaurant. Hand cut ice and extremely inventive drinks have won Evan huge acclaim (3155 East Burnside Street)

Clyde Common – Neil Kopplin has helped put Clyde on the map with extraordinarily solid classic cocktails and a bar menu which consistently draws the crowds. (1014 Southwest Stark Street)

In some cities you’d find bartenders competing against each other, but in Portland they all come together an collaborate under their Oregon Bartender’s Guild with monthly events you don’t have to be a bartender to attend and an annual distiller’s festival that has been getting some national attention.

With Drink Spirits now off the ground and running we’ll have a lot more frequent updates here at On Portland and we invite you to check out some of the key articles on the spirits site: